


A Matter Of Perspective.

by sarah_dude



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Body Swap AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-16 16:10:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3494648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_dude/pseuds/sarah_dude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy and Angie get swept up in a different sort of adventure when one more of Stark's inventions has an unexpected side effect. Can Angie keep this secret and rely on her acting to see her through? Just how deep undercover can Peggy go? Where in the world is Howard Stark, and can he even fix this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

The words in front of Peggy Carter's eyes began to blur. Despite blinking several times in a row, they remained stubbornly unchanged. Leaning back into the pillows she had propped up against the headboard, Peggy sighed. She had to finish reading a number of reports by the morning. 

In the wake of her actions regarding Leviathan she had finally been granted some responsibilities that went beyond coffee runs and filing, and tomorrow heralded her first briefing - on Dottie Underwood. The woman’s disappearance might mean she was gone, but she was certainly not forgotten. At Peggy’s behest, the SSR committed itself to hunting the assassin, and Peggy had no intention of going into the briefing without being fully prepared. 

Leaning over to pull the drawer of her bedside table open, Peggy paused. Inside there were several pairs of reading glasses of various shapes and sizes. Frowning slightly, Peggy reached over to hesitantly pick up a pair. She was, after all, residing in one of Howard Stark’s homes and one could never be too cautious when handling what might not be an innocuous item. After a careful once over, the curious side of Peggy outweighed her caution, and without much fan fair she popped them onto her face and blinked a little owlishly to try and adjust to the new vision. 

Things definitely seemed...sharper? She glanced back at her paperwork trying not to be surprised at how crisp and clear the letters on the page were. Did she need glasses? She stubbornly decided against the idea quickly, deciding instead the glasses must be one of Stark’s inventions but to what ends evaded her. Night vision perhaps, but she scowled at the contradicting lamplight. Peggy fought back a yawn and rose from bed to get a glass of water. After all, she and her sharper vision were in for a long night ahead. 

Stopping only to grab her silk dressing gown, Peggy quickly and silently maneuvered her way through the mansion trying not to wake up the other occupant of the building. Feeling her lips quirk at the mere thought of one Angie Martinelli, Peggy raised her fingers to her lips to mask the smile out of habit, lest someone find out her secret. Peggy knew that she had an endless soft spot for the woman, one that had only magnified and multiplied in the short time that they had lived together. Angie's enthusiasm for life had added endless colour to Peggy's world, a world that had lost all light after the death of Steve Rogers. Letting her hand fall onto the curve of her neck, Peggy dug into the muscles there and sighed heavily. With the long night ahead of her it was best to not to wander down that particular road.

Turning a corner to reach the kitchen, Peggy noticed a light spilling from underneath the door and paused momentarily, before gliding forward without even shifting the air around her. Opening the door silently, Peggy let herself relax. Sitting at the grand wooden table in the middle of the room was Angie backlit by a small light she had placed on the counter. Her eyes were flying across the multitude of pages in front of her, small frown between her eyebrows and lips almost imperceptibly moving as she read the words. Peggy leaned against the doorframe and let her eyes wander over her friend, noting the small shifts in her posture and the movements of her hands, acting out the words she was reading without conscious thought. 

Her reverie broke when Angie suddenly groaned as she let her head fall to the table. "And to think you were once told you weren't dramatic enough...the mind boggles."

Angie jerked violently back up and in the process nearly fell off of the chair she was perched on. "English!" She grasped at her heart "Geez, warn a girl about impending heart attacks will ‘ya?!"

Peggy chuckled and left her position against the door to join her housemate at the table. She gestured to the paper strewn across the table’s surface. "Can't sleep?"

Angie gave her a half shrug, before leaning both elbows on the table and propping her head up. "Audition tomorrow, don't know if I'll manage to get my shift covered but best learn the lines just in case right?"

Peggy only nodded, reading the script upside down and gleaning the outline of the plot as well as most of the dialogue. Another damsel-in-distress role involving forbidden love, blackmail, and kidnapping. Inwardly sighing, Peggy vowed to be supportive no matter what, despite her belief that Angie deserved roles that were better written, that were more well rounded and intriguing like the actress herself. Looking up at her friend, she noticed an odd look being directed at her. "What?"

"Since when did you wear glasses? I've never seen you in them before. Don't tell me, the great Peggy Carter does have a flaw?"

Peggy blushed slightly "Don't be absurd Angie, of course I have flaws...but I'll have you know my eyesight isn't one of them. I was trying to read my reports and" she raised a hand to wave dismissively "it turns out that our landlord is something of a collector of reading glasses."

"Huh."

Peggy stood to collect the glass of water she originally came to collect. "Huh indeed, as strange as it seems, though it does seemed to have helped me so, I suspect there’s probably some grievous side effect that I am yet unaware of. That is the Stark trademark after all." Smiling at her own jib at Howard's expense, Peggy turned from getting her drink to notice Angie looking at her with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Reckon you gotta pair that'll help me read over my lines? Only, I'm falling asleep here and I'm pretty sure I just read the last line twelve times." To prove her point Angie stood and dramatically began to walk towards Peggy and recite the line "Oh Robert! Take me with you. Ours is a love for the ages, a love to be written in the stars." Angie reached Peggy and dramatically wrapped her arms over Peggy’s shoulders. "I can't bear to be apart from you..." she stopped and tilted her head slightly "Ah phooey, well whatever else she says was going to be darn convincing."

Peggy cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to ignore the lack of space between them and the none too little chemistry. Pulling herself back and away from temptation Peggy tried not to think too hard that the end of the sentence concluded with a heated kiss between the two characters. "Yes. Very convincing. To think he leaves her on the farm..."

Angie openly gaped. "Right, well if you managed to read and learn the story upside down in a jiffy, I definitely need a pair of these magical glasses." She turned around to collect her papers. Peggy didn't try to dissuade her of the notion that it was the glasses that allowed her to do that, the reality being years of training and gathering information undercover in covert operations. 

"Right." Peggy snapped to attention, Angie stood in front of her, all her papers gathered rather adorably into a clump in her arms. Peggy was sure it would probably take longer to organise them chronologically after that treatment than to memorise the words written on them. "Bed." Angie declared, nodding once and spinning on her heels walked out of the kitchen door and headed straight to Peggy's room, giving the other woman no option but to follow.

*

Entering her bedroom again, Peggy couldn't help but roll her eyes. Angie had sprawled herself diagonally across Peggy’s bed and was face-down digging through the glasses in the nightstand. "Gosh, I thought you were pulling my leg,” she said. “…but I guess not. There has to be at least seven pairs in here!"

Peggy sat on the edge of the bed by Angie's side. "Yes, I can't quite wrap my head around it."

Angie snorted, "Well don't strain yourself thinking too hard," and got a gentle smack to her arm as a reward for her comment.

"Oh hey! This pair matches yours!" Angie rolled onto her side, leaning her head on her hand and placed the glasses on the tip of her nose, wiggling her eyebrows. "Waddya think huh? Sophisticated?" The image was an enticing one but Peggy valiantly tried to ignore the heat rising in her chest, quickly standing to hide any sudden blushing. 

"Extremely."

Angie rolled over and propped herself up on the vacant side of the bed and placed her script on the other bedside table. "Well, if we're both pulling all-nighters we might as well spend it with good company!" She paused and gave Peggy a strange look, "Hey-did I remember to turn the light off in the kitchen?" She made a move to stand, but Peggy gestured at her to stay put. "Don't worry, I'm already standing. I'll go check. Start reading your lines!"

Peggy made her way quickly down to the kitchen to turn the light off. She paused for a moment to lean against the marble countertop letting her cool hand rest under the neckline of her nightgown in an attempt to squash the emotions stirring inside. A night spent sitting and reading next to Angie, a woman whom she had a weakness for...how hard could that be? Taking a moment to check the front door was locked and all lights were turned off, Peggy made her way back into her room, only to stop short at the sight that greeted her. Angie had made a move to sit under the covers, and despite being propped up, had let her head fall to the side, mouth slightly agape and eyes closed. The warmth she felt rising threatened to turn from simple affection to something far more potent. 

Moving across the room, Peggy stood above Angie and made a move to remove the glasses that were still perched on her face. She gently grasped the frame, but stopped when a small muttering of, "Not asleep," was paired with a heavily slurred, "Just gimme five more minutes." Smiling fondly, Peggy let her thumb gently trace the curve of Angie's cheekbone, before her hand snapped back in realisation of what she was doing. 

Walking over to the other side of the bed, Peggy herself slipped under the covers and picked up her reading, noticing a heavy wave of exhaustion sweep over her. Her eyes struggled to remain open, and she adjusted her glasses to read from the top of the page. 

Five minutes passed until Peggy's eyes slipped closed of their own accord. Trying to ignore the warmth of the body presiding on the right next to her, Peggy spared a moment to consider where this new wave of tiredness was stemming from. She had the unnerving sensation that she wasn't in charge of her body any more, and the last thing she noticed before slipping off into sleep was the fact that body warmth was suddenly on her left.

*

The next morning Peggy awoke to the same odd sensation of her friend’s body slumbering on the left side of the bed, and in her sleepy haze wondered how they'd somehow maneuvered that feat in the night. That line of questioning was quickly cut off by a very English exclamation. 

"Oh my God!"

Peggy's eyes flew open and peered over to Angie, only to be met by eyes she knew intimately well… from a mirror.

"Oh my God."


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was definitely in Angie’s body and, unfortunately, not in  
> the way that she had ever envisioned.

*

Peggy blinked. Nothing changed; she was still looking at herself. 

She reached out to touch the strange image in front of her and realised that the movement felt peculiar. Looking down at herself, Peggy managed to conclude swiftly that she wasn’t in her own body In fact, to add to the already bizarre morning, it seemed like the body that she was in fact in was no other than one Angie Martinelli. She hedged a bet with herself and looking back up to, well, herself, she voiced a singular question. 

“Angie?” The noise that came out of her throat was definitely that of a name, but said in a strangled manner. She didn’t know if she liked speaking with an American accent, the twang of the words spoken at odds with the clear voice in her head. 

“Oh my God,” was the only response that she got and she watched her body tumble from the bed and land on the floor with an almighty ‘oomph’. Kneeling, crawling across and peering over the bed, Peggy was greeted with the unusual but undeniably humorous image of herself crumpled upon the floor. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather you didn’t bruise or damage my body any more than is strictly necessary.” 

“Your body...” was the faint response. “Oh my God.” 

Peggy swung her legs, Angie’s legs, Angie’s long, slim and supple legs, off the side of the bed and padded uneasily over to the floor length mirror attached to the door of her wardrobe. She looked at herself. Confirmation. She was definitely in Angie’s body and, unfortunately, not in the way that she had ever envisioned. She watched in fascination as she controlled the body in the mirror; when she raised her hand, the reflection of Angie raised her hand too. She traced her fingers across her face and the mirror copied her. She felt herself blush at the attention she was paying Angie’s body, Angie’s face coloured a fetching shade, and Peggy quickly stepped away from the dangerously enticing reflection. 

Well. Damn. 

Peggy turned around and noticed that Angie was still struggling to find her feet, literally. She didn’t know that her body could move in such undignified and awkward ways. “Any idea what’s happened Pegs?” Angie choked out, her voice strained, the accent almost lisping the words Angie had forced out. 

Peggy tried not to shrug. “Well…no.” The look of horror Angie managed to contort her face into might have been amusing in any other situation. Peggy walked over to her, a little surer in her movement, and helped her sit on the edge of the bed, noticing strange red marks either side of her nose. 

“Oh no. Oh no no no no _no_.” 

Angie looked at her. “Well, that sounds positive.” 

“The glasses,” Peggy groaned, “Oh I was only joking about the side effects. I’m going to find Howard Stark and I’m going to kill him. I am. I swear I am.” 

“Oh my God.” 

“And you have got to stop saying that!” 

“Uh, Pegs, unless you hadn’t noticed- we’ve swapped bodies!” 

Peggy sighed and rested her hand on Angie’s leg, closing the gap between them with an earnest apology. “Yes, of course. I’m so sorry Angie, this is all my fault.” 

Angie let out a small bark of laughter. “Well that’s a first. Never thought I’d hear myself apologising! And don’t be silly, it isn’t your fault at all.” She let her hand rest on top of Peggy’s. “Oh geez Pegs, this is mighty strange.” 

Glancing over her shoulder at the mirror image of them both sat on the bed, Peggy shook her head and murmured, “Strange doesn’t even begin to cover it.” 

Angie grimaced slightly and nudged Peggy with her shoulder. “Not wanting to be crude and all, but I’m fit for bursting. We got a plan?” 

Peggy hesitantly smiled. “Well, we’re both adults. I’m sure we can deal with this in a sensible and appropriate manner.” 

Angie laughed and for the first time that morning didn’t look like she was seconds away from fainting like one of her dames from the stage. Walking over to the door, Angie paused, “Sensible and appropriate. Copy that ma’am.” She gave a childish salute, one that looked so odd coming from the body of Peggy Carter. “I’ll freshen up and whip us up something to eat. Sound good English?” 

“Sounds marvellous.” 

With Angie out of the room, Peggy allowed her panic to rise, her thoughts running wild. What on Earth had Stark gotten them into this time. Crossing over to the phone, she tried calling all the separate numbers that Howard had left her in case she needed him, but he answered none of them. Worrying slightly, Peggy dialled another number from memory. 

“Jarvis residence.” 

*

Angie tried not to think too hard. Her Ma and her teachers had always told her that thinking was never her strongest suit so there was no reason to start the habit now. She prided herself on being able to go with the flow, roll with the punches, move into wildly expensive housing with mysterious English women, and not over-think any situation. 

The problem was, however, that swapping bodies with said mysterious English housemate was quite a good reason to start over-thinking things. Simple everyday things, such as the toilet. 

“Oh my God.” 

Walking over to the mirror, Angie allowed herself to have a moment similar to Peggy’s earlier. This was not the reflection she had grown up with, and despite having confirmed the body switch earlier, being able to stand and look in the mirror so closely really hit home that this was happening. 

Angie could see every little detail about Peggy, every little human aspect, and annoyingly the more she took in the imperfections, the more devastatingly in love with Peggy Angie fell. She traced her fingertips over her eyebrows, noting how they were plucked to perfection. Angie let her lips curl into one of Peggy’s finer grins. Knowing that Peggy put effort into her appearance made her more accessible, more appealing. She noted a small patch of dry skin just above her left eyebrow and she turned, opening her bathroom cabinet. She searched for her best cremes, the real good stuff that she saved for the rare nights that the dance halls called for her, or an extra special audition where she just knew her big break was waiting for her. Turning back to the mirror, Angie applied the creme to Peggy’s skin, taking extra care to rub in every last bit, luxuriating in the silky texture. 

Shaking herself out of her momentary hypnosis, Angie started her usual morning routine, giving herself a pep talk in the mirror. 

“You. You are Angela Martinelli. You are Broadway’s next big star. You can do anything. You sound sorta English and you look like Peggy, but you are Angie. You got this.” 

Angie stared at Peggy’s face and let her mind wander slightly. 

“Angie,” she sighed. Peggy’s voice saying her name was and always been her weakness. She knew it wasn’t quite the same inflection, and it definitely sounded odd hearing it from inside her head then echoing against the tiles. That didn’t stop her though. “Angie.” It was too good an opportunity to pass up; she’d never get this sort of unfettered access again and there was no knowing how long this situation could continue. She made a note to ask Peggy about how long this swap may last, but for now, she says it again. “Angie.” She groaned, and then very quickly wished that she hadn’t. If there was one sound in the world Angie shouldn’t have heard, it was that, and now she knew just how decadent that sound was. She swallowed once, and then again in quick succession. This was getting far too out of hand, and she needed to rein herself back in before she literally took other things in hand. Catching herself, Angie closed her eyes and muttered a quick prayer for strength. If she loved Peggy like she claimed, she’d have to respect the girl, and not paw at her body. 

She’d been doing such a good job of not thinking, of ignoring how Peggy’s smiles lit up the room, of not noticing how her sarcasm was as sharp as a knife. Ever since Peggy had first walked into the diner Angie had been steadily falling, but she had steadfastly refused to think about it. Her Ma would have been so proud of her control, if only all that hard work of not thinking hadn’t been destroyed by this otherworldly happenstance. 

Making quick work of the basics, Angie found herself back in front of the mirror finishing her ablutions. She would need to change her clothes at some point, so finding Peggy again and asking her to choose an outfit was probably the best idea. She considered, briefly, completing this task by herself but she had high doubts any of her dresses would fit her or her considerable new assets. She glanced down. It didn't seem like it was an entirely bad thing that her clothes won’t fit when there were such obvious benefits. 

Angie had never been the jealous type, but Peggy had the kinda curves on her that made a girl lightheaded. Hollywood loved women with curves, and so did Angie. The curves were just the tip to the iceberg, but as she tried to fill her head with Peggy's other charms, her eyeline remained stubbornly unmoving. She tried to not overthink the situation again, but the thought of how easy it would be to feel Peggy's body ran through her mind. How simple it would be to cup, to stroke, to worship and love, but it was not her place and the guilt had already begun to settle in heavily. These were not the thoughts she should have. These were not the thoughts Peggy's body should be subjected to and Angie wanted her for far more than just her body. 

What she really wanted right then, more than Peggy however, was to wash the intruding thoughts away. She shouldn’t be having those urges; it wasn’t right. Her Ma's voice telling her that thoughts like those were unnatural filled her mind. From a pretty young age Angie always knew that the fairer sex held her attention, and it was from the same young age that her Ma told her that her thoughts were wrong and to pay no attention to them. Upset, Angie lunged forward to turn the tap on and realised another of her mistakes far too late to stop it. Her new strength combined with her distressed mood meant a broken tap, with the damned faucet coming off in her hand. 

Water went everywhere. Angie wasn’t exactly well versed in plumbing, but it seemed the sheer amount of water pouring from the broken tap was ludicrous. Yelping and cursing loudly Angie dove under the sink to try and stop the second Great Flood of the world. Considering how much time she’d just devoted to thinking about Peggy naked, she doubted God would arrive with a rainbow and a wooden ark to save her. 

She pried open the cabinet under the sink and something vaguely important caught her eye; with a quick pull the water stopped spewing up and out of the tap. Sighing in relief Angie slumped down onto the damp floor, and that’s exactly how Peggy found her a few moments later, after striding into the bathroom and letting out a high pitched squeal. 

Peggy turned away, blushing furiously. “Why on _earth_ are you soaking wet?” 

Angie tried for a laugh, and failed. “I was getting ready for the day?” She glanced down at herself, the silk of the nightgown clinging to every curve, leaving very little to the imagination at all. "Sorry I ruined your gown.” Angie felt the sharp sting of embarrassment and shame, as well as curiosity as to why Peggy was refusing to meet her eye while still red-cheeked. 

Grabbing a towel, Peggy held it out for Anige to wrap herself in. Once that was done, she turned to survey the damage. Water puddled everywhere. 

“I didn’t know taps could break so easily.” 

Peggy laughed charmingly. “They don’t! Clearly we need to get you used to operating with a little more strength than you’re accustomed to.” 

Angie snorted, incredulous. “A little?” 

“Come on, we need to get you dried up and changed before Mr. Jarvis arrives.” 

As they walked out together, Angie noted that Peggy had already changed into the Automat uniform and allowed herself a moment to imagine how that had played out. 

"Hey, is that really what my hair looks like from the back?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Hump Day!   
> Sorry this took so long, hopefully updates will come a little quicker from now on.   
> The hugest thanks to chillyflame for cheerleading and betaing this chapter. You da bestest.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jarvis continued to gape. He opened and closed his mouth a few times and the smallest squeak came out. "Swapped bodies?"

There was a knock at the door. Both women had elected in the time it took to dress Angie not to not go too far away from each other, so that's how they greeted Edwin Jarvis. The door swung open and immediately his suspicions were up. Jarvis had never been so willingly and warmly welcomed into this house before. Peggy Carter had slammed more doors in his face and on his foot than he cared to think about, and Ms Martinelli had only smiled at him twice. Once when she'd figured out he wasn't courting Peggy and the second was when he toured her around the house in which he was currently being ushered into.

"Miss. Carter, Miss. Martinelli. How may I offer my assistance this morning?"

Had he been so inclined, Jarvis would have laughed at the panicked look on both the women’s faces as a series of severe head tilts and nudges tried to bely who would speak first. Letting out the mightiest sigh and eye roll, perfectly in character for Peggy, Angie spoke, her voice still trying to no longer fumble over the new accent.

"Fancypants, we have a situation." 

The impression the Jarvis did of a fish out of water was spectacular. "I beg your pardon?"

Angie sighed. "A situation."

Peggy tried to help. "Mr. Jarvis, we have found ourselves rather out of sorts...."

"...rather ‘in each other's bodies’ is more accurate English."

Jarvis continued to gape. He opened and closed his mouth a few times and the smallest squeak came out. "Swapped bodies?"

Peggy stepped forward, leading the poor man through to the kitchen. "Yes, in fact I called you here to try and help us undo this. I believe that Howard, the insufferable fool, left one of his silly gadgets around which has caused this nuisance." 

Jarvis nodded wildly. "Right."

Angie found herself pouring water into the kettle and setting it on the stove top with so little thought that it startled her. She guessed some things really were muscle memory. 

"Tea?" 

Jarvis hadn't stopped nodding. "Yes. Please."

Peggy took him by the arms and shook him. “Get hold of yourself, man!” When he continued to nod, she slapped him, causing Angie to jump. 

"Peggy!" Angie chuckled quietly as Peggy shook her wrist, looking at it with an odd expression.

"That hurt!"

"I'm sure it hurt Fancy a hell of a lot more, Pegs."

Sure enough, Jarvis had finally stopped nodding. He held his cheek as tested out his jaw, all the while scowling a storm at Peggy. "Well," he huffed indignantly. "If there was anything to convince me of the fact, that did it. Miss. Carter has never been a delicate touch,” he said, smiling at Angie. Well, smiling at Angie's body. The thunderous frown he got in return made him turn to the real Angie, who was trying to hide her smile behind her hand.

"Takes a while to get used to it, but the gist is I'm in Peggy's body and she's in mine."

Jarvis starting nodding again, before stopping abruptly and looking cautiously at Peggy. "Right." 

Peggy huffed, and walked over to the kettle which had begun whistling. "Long story short, we're a little unsure how to undo this or how to move forward. We're hoping you have a solution for us.” 

Pouring two cups of English Breakfast, she indicated over her shoulder at the matching sets of eyeglasses sitting on the table in front of Jarvis.

"I think those are what caused it, and I'm hoping you might recognise the design and know how to sort out our predicament."

Deciding that today required the extra sugar, Peggy stirred in two spoons into her cup, and after placing a cup in front of Jarvis, tried to savour the religious experience of the first mouthful of tea in the morning, only to end up spitting it out quickly after.

"Urgh."

Angie quickly strode over to her, taking the cup out of her hands before she could spill it any where. "Gosh I forgot to tell you, I hate tea." 

Peggy looked scandalised. "You hate tea?" 

Angie shrugged. "Never drank the stuff when I was younger, and by the time I got around to trying it, I never acquired the taste for it." She picked up the cup off the side and took a cautious sip, and groaned outrageously. "I'm missing out though huh? Hmmmm this is delicious."

Peggy was frowning mightily. "You hate tea." 

Deciding to tease her, Angie took another huge sip. "Yup, but you don't." Smacking her lips together in the least lady like manner, she genuinely enjoyed the flavour. It was innately comforting; her body was relaxing and uncoiling and the sweetness felt like a small slice of heaven. Angie was stunned at how much Peggy's body enjoyed the cup, and her thoughts quickly derailed into ideas of what else Peggy's body would enjoy. The pressure in her chest was back, and Angie finally clicked that it was pleasure. How strange, she thought to herself, that such a basic emotion felt so different in another body. Angie was brought out of her musings by her own flushed face. Peggy was clearly used to keeping her emotions hidden under layers and walls, but Angie allowed her feelings to be worn on her sleeve, which allowed Angie to read Peggy like an open book. 

Before she could read too much, however, both women were brought out of their bubble and back to the kitchen with a cleared throat. Jarvis was standing, holding the glasses.

"I believe I know how to fix this."

Both women turned to look at him expectantly.

"Time."

Peggy had always had a short temper and reacted quickly, so it was with some surprise that she heard Angie's outrage before hers.

"What?!"

Jarvis shifted uncomfortably. "There's no 'off' switch. It's quite interesting actually..." Catching the expression on both women’s faces Jarvis trailed off and tried to start again. "As unfortunate as this situation is, time is the solution. I don't know how long either. I can only guess between a day and a week."

Despite further cries of dismay, Jarvis pressed on. "If this is the design I believe it is, the effect is in ratio to the amount of time both glasses were worn at the same time. If we can figure that out, I should be able to calculate the time this swap shall last."

Peggy looked at Angie. "We fell asleep wearing them."

"So..."

Peggy nodded. "Theres no possible way of knowing how long this will last."

"Gracious." Jarvis sighed.

"Oh my God."

"Seriously Angie..."

"Pegs, what are we gonna do about work?"

Peggy spun round to look at Angie leaning against the kitchen sink. She waved a hand over Angie’s diner uniform.

"I think we should go. I can do your shift at the L&L and you can go the office." Peggy walked over to the table and dropped heavily onto her chair. "I need to give this debriefing, Angie. They're finally giving me real work, so I can't let them have the satisfaction of thinking I’m incapable. It'll be the just the thing that they're looking for..." Peggy didn’t think that she’d ever sounded so anxious before. 

"Hey," Angie reached out and grabbed Peggy's hand. "I can do that. Don't forget, you're looking at Broadway's best and brightest undiscovered star." 

Peggy gave her a reassuring smile, certain that Angie could probably see the insecurity written across her own features as clear as day. 

"And you need to go to my audition and stall for me. Say you're dying or something but it's my last shot ok. We'll figure this out."

Jarvis chimed in. "Well, if you ladies are unsure, there is a way to try and test if this will work. How well do you think you can act like each other?"

Angie smiled. "Well, we've been living together for near on 6 months now. If I can't act like English I don't deserve to call myself an actress."

Peggy nodded. "I should hope that if I can remain undercover in high-stress high-stake operations, I can go undercover as Angie at the diner."

Angie shot Peggy a dangerous look, one as hot as the tea she still nursed. "Whatcha trying to say Pegs? My job is plenty high stress."

"No no, Angie, I simply meant..."

"Don't patronise me Peggy. I know what you meant. My job is nowhere near as important as yours. It's simple and easy."  
"Angie, that's not at all what I meant."

"Well I'll have you know that being you will be a cakewalk."

Peggy tried not to grimace. "Actually it'll be harder than you think. There are passwords you need to learn. There's a whole debriefing actually, and how I act in front of my colleagues is not how I act around you."

It was too late to have a sensible conversation with Angie; she had let Peggy's comment get to her. It wasn't even Peggy's fault. How was she to know that her biggest insecurity was the fact that she was too boring and plain, too uninteresting to be close to the endlessly fascinating Peggy Carter? Angie was just a waitress and Peggy was an important part of the government. Bitterly, Angie picked up one of the breakfast scones and shoved half of it in her mouth, and proceeded talked around it. "Look at me." she said, exaggerating the British accent till it was awful, gesturing wildly. "I'm Peggy Carter and I talk with my mouth full and I'm a super spy." Crumbs flew everywhere.

Peggy huffed and did something she rarely did, and picked a fight with Angie. She stood from the table and walked over to the stove, grabbing the cooling kettle. "I'm Angie Martinelli and I hate tea and I'm going to flounce around the diner all day reciting parts of plays I didn't get, complaining that I'm a better actress than those floozies," she mimed, terribly, pouring out cups of coffee batting her eyes. 

Angie growled.

"I'm Peggy Carter and I won’t drink schnapps and eat pie because I'm better than you."

"I'm Angie Martinelli and flirt for tips calling everyone ridiculous nicknames."

"I have a stick up my arse and I'm emotionally unavailable."

"I steal Peggy's hair pins and say I don't know where they've gone."

"That was _one_ time!" Angie threw what was left of the scone at Peggy.

"Ladies! Ladies, please. Calm down, this isn't helping anyone." 

Both women were breathing unevenly. Angie felt the flush of complete embarrassment, whereas Peggy couldn't quite believe that she'd reacted like that. She looked down, flicking bits of scone off her, while trying to control her reactions. 

"Sorry," mumbled Angie.

Peggy looked up and shook her hair out of her eyes. "Yes. Sorry, I didn't mean what I said. I'm just frustrated at Howard and the whole situation."

"You do talk with your mouth full, though."

Peggy opened her mouth to protest, but closed it after she noticed Jarvis nodding furiously at Angie as the two shared a smile. She grinned, and looked at her watch.

"Right, well, we have just under an hour to tell each other everything we need to know to last the day."

Angie straightened up and nodded seriously. "We can do this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Struggled a little bit with this chapter, hopefully future updates wont take so long!! Thank you for all your kudos and comments, they mean the world to little ol' me!  
> Another HUGE thanks to chillyflame for all the beta help, I will eventually learn my tenses!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is going to be my first multi-chapter fic, bare with me.
> 
> Many thanks to tumblr users mynameisme91 and gainesm for their help betaing. You guys are awesome. 
> 
> Also thanks to QuickYoke (Tumblr user romanimp) for posting about wanting a body swap and reminding me I had this and for spurring me on to finish it. Also for lighting the fire under my butt to make it longer. 
> 
> Any comments would be welcomed with open arms! Thank you for taking the time to read!


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